"Community relations all important" Business, Aboriginal groups report

'Good things underway' between business, aboriginal groups: report Last Updated: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | 5:48 PM ET CBC News Community relations is all important when companies deal with aboriginal communities in Canada, according to a report released Wednesday. The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business analyzed dealings between 38 companies and aboriginal communities across the country. The analysis found that there are "good things underway" as businesses try to build positive working relationships. "Nothing else matters as much as productive and progressive community relations," Clint Davis, council president and chief executive officer, said in an interview on Wednesday. "Clearly, there is a perception that working with aboriginal communities can be overwhelming. You have three different groups — First Nations, Metis and Inuit — and within those groups, you have different languages, culture and circumstances." Davis said good community relations is the main ingredient common to all positive dealings between businesses and aboriginal communities within all three groups. He said the "good things" found by the report, include: Open and transparent communication, which involves companies gathering feedback on how their operations affect communities. Consultation that can lead to forming partnerships. A willingness to respect cultural differences. An understanding that all parties involved in the dealings need to benefit. For example, ESS/Compass Group Canada, which provides services to remote development projects, uses annual satisfaction surveys filled out by the chiefs in each community it operates to deal with concerns. And Syncrude, an oil sands development company that operates in northern Alberta, has established what it calls five "industry relations corporations in each of the aboriginal communities where it operates. The corporations include "standards of consultation" agreed to by both parties in each community, and provide forums to enable all parties to work together. The BMO Financial Group, in its dealings with aboriginal communities across the country, has an official policy not to use cultural images that have often been used in advertising aimed at aboriginal people. Depictions of eagles and feathers, for example, are prohibited in its advertising and promotional campaigns. The concern is that the use of sacred cultural symbols ultimately serves to reinforce stereotypes. All of the companies analyzed in the report took part in what the council calls its progressive aboriginal relations program, which was designed to encourage the full participation of aboriginal people in the Canadian economy. The company took part in the program between 2001 and 2008. Davis said the report found that money was not the most important factor in establishing good community relations. "In this economic climate, time and effort — not necessarily money — are the keys to establishing good relations."

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/02/18/aboriginal-business.html